The Press Box.

Tour Starts Well For Italian

July 03, 1995

LANNION, France — Italy's Fabio Baldato won the first stage of his first Tour de France Sunday with a long, uphill power sprint that left Laurent Jalabert of France and Djamolidine Abdoujaparov of Uzbekistan gasping in his wake.

Jacky Durand barely held on to the overall lead, with two other little-known Frenchmen within two seconds of first place. "I had to fight up to the finish line," Durand said.

Swiss contender Tony Rominger finished sixth, while Miguel Indurain, seeking a fifth consecutive overall victory, was 12th, crossing the line in the leading group. The Spaniard remained a half-minute behind Durand in the standings.

For Baldato, it was a dream start for a Tour rookie. He succeeded where many renowned sprinters failed.

"The last meters were terrible," he said. "That's just how it should be."

In a long uphill road to the finish line, Italy's Mario Cipollini and Belgian Wilfried Nelissen spent their strength too early and faded badly in the closing stages.

Jalabert, chasing victory in the Tour's first stage after having crashed out in the opener last year, took the lead with 200 meters left and the partisan crowd wildly cheered him on.

"That was the most dangerous moment, when Jalabert came," Baldato said.